Mahabharata — Shalya Parva, Shloka 56
अध्याय ३: कृपस्य दुर्योधनं प्रति नीत्युपदेशः
Kṛpa’s Counsel to Duryodhana
Devanagari script
पितामहैराचरितं न धर्म हातुमरहथ
Transliteration
pitāmahair ācaritaṃ na dharmaṃ hātum arhatha
Translation
Dijo Sañjaya: «No debéis abandonar el dharma que practicaron y sostuvieron los venerables antepasados.»
Word by Word
पितामहैःby the grandsires/ancestors
पितामहैः:
Karana
TypeNoun
Rootपितामह
FormMasculine, Instrumental, Plural
आचरितम्practised/observed
आचरितम्:
Karma
TypeVerb
Rootआ-चर्
FormNeuter, Nominative, Singular
नnot
न:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootन
धर्मम्dharma/righteous duty
धर्मम्:
Karma
TypeNoun
Rootधर्म
FormMasculine, Accusative, Singular
हातुम्to abandon/give up
हातुम्:
TypeVerb
Rootहा
FormInfinitive
अर्हथyou (all) ought/are fit
अर्हथ:
Karta
TypeVerb
Rootअर्ह्
FormPresent, Second, Plural
Speaker
संजय उवाच
Characters & Entities
स
संजय (Sañjaya)प
पितामह (grandsires/ancestors)Character Dynamics
Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)
War Context
Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)
Philosophical Teaching
Political Layer
Geographic Context
Meter (Chandas)
Sandhi Notes
Educational Q&A
One should not discard dharma that has been validated by long-standing ancestral practice; ethical conduct gains authority through the tested example of revered elders.
Sañjaya, narrating events to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, conveys an admonitory statement urging adherence to the traditional dharma upheld by the elders, framing the war-time decisions within inherited moral standards.